Night Stalkers
by Alaqua Slaughter
Summary: When the existence of vampires becomes known, all Yugi can do is watch as his race falls to the hands of humans. Now his survival depends on a young human who may or may not be falling in love with him...AU. shonnenai. YxR,YYxS,TAxB.
1. Rooftop Meeting

A/N: no idea where this idea came from but I hope you all like it!

* * *

Pairings: YugixRyou, YamixSeto, TristanxDuke, TeaxBakura. these are the only set ones so far. 

**Warning**: None as of yet….

* * *

Yugi Motou sighed as he ran through the rain. Though rain was one of the very few things he loved, there _was_ such a thing as having too much of a good thing. His leather was starting to become unbearably tight and the chains were cold as they bounced gently on his wrists. No doubt Tristan was going to have to help him cut off the clothes when he got back. 

Yugi glanced up at the sky, sighing in despair when he saw that the sky was filled with clouds, no sign of the moon or stars peeking through. The streets were eerily quiet and dark, no sign of a human anywhere. The tall buildings loomed above him, dark and forbidding, but Yugi paid it no mind. He was a creature of the night and relished times like these.

He stopped short of a street filled with lights. Yugi cursed silently as he remembered the carnival that was in town. No doubt the few humans who didn't mind getting wet were out. Pulling up his collar and keeping to the shadows, he walked along the wall of a bakery, making sure to avoid catching the eye of any perceptive humans.

He kept to the wall until he reached an alley filled with shattered glass from a fourth floor window. The window had been broken by a teen trying to escape his abusive father. Yugi had been on the bakery roof and had watched as the youth jumped, admiring his courage to fall from that high. He had then fed on the teen, erasing his memory of the incident and went on his way.

Yugi's boots crunched on the glass and trash as he walked to the escape ladder of the apartment building. He often wondered why the abused youth didn't take that route instead of jumping, but he didn't ponder it now as he looked for his charge.

He growled with annoyance when he saw no sign of anyone on the escape route. He clawed out some of the wall to create a foothold and started climbing, clawing out a bit of the wall when there were no suitable holds.

When Yugi crawled onto the roof he glanced around and rolled his eyes at the sight of Yami, who was shivering with cold and standing under an umbrella. The tanned youth didn't seem to notice Yugi and he took advantage of it, muffling the sound of his boots with shadows as he walked to the shivering teen.

"You told me you would be on the escape route." Yugi said, crossing his arms.

Yami jumped and turned around, glaring when he saw that it was just Yugi. "No, I stated clearly that I would be on the _roof_ and don't sneak up on me, I was about ready to shoot you."

Yugi glanced down and saw that, indeed, Yami was gripping the sleek black weapon. Though Yami knew Yugi wouldn't hurt him, he always carried a gun loaded with silver bullets in case one of Yugi's friends decided to tag along one day.

Yugi smiled. "You don't have the courage to lift it, let alone pull the trigger."

Yami snorted. "You wanna bet?"

Yugi's smile turned into a smirk. "You know better than to shoot me, Yami. Even I know you would die of guilt if you killed me."

"Which is why I'm saving you for last." Yami mumbled under his breath.

Yugi smiled gently and walked to the edge of the building. "I have what you were asking for, but I'm not handing it over until you tell me who it's for."

"Téa." Yami said simply.

Yugi turned around and stared at Yami incredulously. "Téa? Why in Leach's name? She's hardly a threat to humans, least of all you."

Yami smirked, knowing that he'd caught Yugi off guard. He only used the name of the Night god when he was genuinely startled or confused.

"She's becoming a nuisance. Last week one of my friends claimed to have been fed upon by a kind looking woman with brown hair and blue eyes. Téa's the only one in Domino who fits that description."

Yugi shook his head. "But why kill her for one attack?"

"No one feeds on my friends," Yami said, "you know that."

Yugi snorted and looked at the carnival, watching all the people with curiosity. Some were arguing and others were dragging their friends or lovers to rides and games. Almost everyone was smiling.

"Well, no one hurts my friends either, _you_ know that." Yugi finally replied, turning back to Yami who was watching him with an odd expression on his face. "What?"

"Do you miss being human?" Yami asked, sympathy evident on his face.

Yugi sighed and rolled his eyes. "We've been through this before, Atemu. But I'll be happy to tell you again that I don't even _remember_ what it was like to be human."

Yami winced. Yugi only called him by his first name when he was annoyed with him or being deadly serious.

"Anyway, I have to go. Daylight is soon and the others are expecting me back before then." Yugi said, getting ready to jump from the apartment roof to the bakery roof and continue roof hopping until he was home.

"I thought you said you had what I wanted." Yami protested, not wanting his friend to leave yet.

Yugi grinned. "It's at the base, but now that I know what it's for, I'm not giving it to you."

Yami rubbed his temples. "You said that you would have it with you when I called for it."

"Yeah, but you didn't call for it yet, this meeting was just a checkup that I scheduled."

"What are you, a doctor?" Yami asked, annoyed with the ancient being.

Yugi smiled. "I might as well be, but I'm not. I'm just your guardian angel, ordered by your ancestor to watch over you."

Yami snorted. "You may act like it every once in a while, but we both know that you're no angel."

Yugi grinned. "So, I've killed a few humans, is that really so bad?"

"Yes, especially when those humans are innocent."

"Ah, well, can't change the past." Yugi said, shrugging. "I'll see you next week, Yami."

Before Yami could reply, Yugi raced off, wanting to get back before the others started to worry. He took a shortcut through the city, when he usually would go around it to the docks.

The rain turned into a slight drizzle as he reached the warehouse that had become his home. Shrugging off the black jacket he was wearing, he made his way into the basement. As he descended into the room he stopped and cursed loudly, realizing that he hadn't fed. He hadn't fed for three nights now. He'd have to feed tomorrow night, before the hunger took over him.

Sometimes being a vampire just wasn't worth it.

* * *

A/N: yeah, yugi's a bit OOC, but he'll be IC by the end of this, or at least i hope he will! 


	2. Getting Some Help

Ryou sighed tiredly as he walked to school. He'd had a late night, cramming an extra hour of study for his history test. It didn't help that his cousin, Bakura, had called at three in the morning, demanding to know whether or not they'd had homework. Just _what_ Bakura was doing up at _three_, Ryou preferred not to know.

He trudged slowly up the school steps, reaching out and lazily pushing the main doors open. He stumbled slightly, using the door to brace himself and shook his head. He _really_ needed some sleep.

"Hey, Ryou. Whoa. What's the matter with you?" His friend, Joey, asked as Ryou nearly fell when he let go of the door.

"Late night." He answered through a yawn, holding on to Joey's shoulder. "I was up studying then Bakura called when I finally managed to get to sleep."

Joey grinned and helped Ryou to steady himself. "Try not to fall all over the place then. It looks like you've got a hangover or something."

Ryou made a face as their other friends came walking in the door. How they all managed to show up at the same time, he never knew, but it took away from the all the time he had to wait for them.

Ryou yawned again and began to walk to biology, the others following. When they took their seats, Ryou noticed Yami, who had dropped his head onto his desk.

"Uh, Yami? You alright?" Joey asked as Bakura snorted with amusement and Ryou looked at him curiously.

"I wush up all night waiting for shat shlow, old guy." They heard Yami grumble into his desk.

"What old guy?" Ryou asked.

Yami seemed to come to life at the simple question. He snapped his head up and looked defensive. "Never mind what old guy. It's none of your business."

"Alright." Ryou said, holding his hands up, "I was just asking."

"What's up your ass?" Bakura asked as Yami slumped in his seat.

Yami glared. "Nothing. I'm just tired."

Bakura just looked at him incredulously as Kaiba walked in and took the seat next to Yami, it being the last seat in the back as the class started to fill. Yami shifted his glare to Kaiba for a moment before looking back at Bakura.

"I need your help with something. " He managed to grind through gritted teeth.

"Must be important," Joey stated idly, "or you wouldn't be asking Bakura for help."

Yami sighed and rubbed his temples. "He's the only professional thief I know."

Everyone raised their eyebrows and looked at one another before looking back at Yami. He was normally the one who gave them lectures whenever they did something wrong. The fact that he needed a thief was as surprising as him coming out and telling them that he was dying.

" 'Thief?' You need me to steal something?" Bakura asked, surprise evident in his normal drawl.

Yami opened his mouth to answer when the door swung open and Marik walked in, wearing his usual pair of sunglasses. He slowly ambled toward them and sat down in front of Kaiba, turning around to face them.

Yami blinked and continued. "Yes, but I'll be going with you. What I want you to take isn't something to be messed around with and the people guarding it aren't forgiving."

Bakura smirked. "I enjoy a challenge. Now, tell me, where I can find this object you want me to take?"

"At the docks, in one of the warehouses. I'm not sure which one, but I'm sure it'll be in a basement." Yami answered, taking out his notebook as the teacher began to lecture about vertebrae and invertebrates. He hesitated a moment before turning to Kaiba. "I think I'll need your help as well, Kaiba."

Ryou and Joey's eye's widened, Bakura raised his eyebrows and Marik blinked.

"What are we talking about?" Marik asked as he tilted his head to the side a little.

"Yami wants Bakura to steal something from a warehouse and he needs Kaiba's help." Ryou answered promptly.

Marik looked surprised for a moment before turning to look at Yami. "A warehouse on the docks? In a basement? Yami, are you sure you want to do that?"

"Yes. What I want Bakura to steal is something valuable and I need it badly." Yami answered, starting to draw a pair of eyes in his notebook.

"Well, what is it?" Kaiba asked after a pause as Yami started to color the eyes a shade of purple.

He hesitated a moment. "It's called a Shadow Sphere. And when you take it, Bakura, _do not drop it_."

They were taken aback by the sudden severity in Yami voice, but simply assumed that the sphere was dangerous if handled roughly.

"I need a map of the warehouses, Kaiba. I assume you'll be able to provide some." He went on.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "And you expect me to just do this for you? Out of the goodness of my heart, maybe?"

Bakura and Marik snorted. If there was any goodness in Kaiba's heart, then it was way, deep, very well hidden at the bottom. Ryou, however, knew there had to be something other than calculating cruelty and aloofness there. If there wasn't, then he wouldn't treat his brother the way he did, with a strange sort of standoffish demeanor but obvious respect and care.

"I knew you'd want something. Name it. Anything. I'll get what ever you want." Yami said as he finished the violet eyes.

"'What do you get a guy who has everything?' " Marik quoted, pushing his sunglasses up.

Ryou watched Kaiba think for a moment. There really was nothing that Yami could give him that Kaiba wouldn't have been able to get himself. Except for one thing.

"I want a rematch." Kaiba finally said. "That's all I want."

"A rematch?" Yami asked. "Seems like a waste, but yes, I'll give you a rematch if you give me a map."

Kaiba nodded and started to take notes, obviously satisfied. Yami had quit dueling a while back, choosing to move on to other things and had refused to duel Kaiba ever again. Giving him a rematch was perhaps the only thing Kaiba wanted from Yami, so he could have one more shot at winning his title back fairly and not having it handed back.

"So, when are we gonna take this 'Shadow Sphere'?" Bakura asked, leaning back in his seat.

Yami looked back at his drawing of the eyes and he looked a bit guilty as the eyes stared back. Ryou looked at the eyes as well and decided that they were a pretty shade of violet. They almost looked amethyst.

"We'll have to go tonight." He said as he looked at the drawing apologetically.

They all turned their attention to the teacher, who was now talking about some lab or another. No one noticed the shadows slipping under the window or the piece of paper that seemed to be in its grasp. Just as no one noticed the hostile glare that promised death, which was sent from a green haired person to a certain blonde.


	3. The Plan

'bout time I updated this one! Sorry for the long wait!

* * *

"I found one." A nasally voice said into the receiver of a phone. "A leech and two victims." 

A low whistle sounded on the other end. "Are the victims aware?"

"Most likely not. But the leech is a guardian, I'm sure of it."

"A guardian? Well, you know the procedure. Don't kill the leech until he or she acts first and you have proof of it. Deal with the victims by the book."

"Yes, sir." The phone clicked off and the one with the nasally voice went back to his lunch. His boss, however, turned to a map and sighed, his eyes twinkling and a slight smirk on his face.

"Soon. It will all end soon."

* * *

Tristan fought back a smirk as he helped Yugi out of his clothes. It wasn't often that the ancient forgot something. The fact that he'd forgotten how leather reacts in water and forgetting to feed was a testament to his age, as Tristan liked to say. 

"So, you say Yami'll be here tonight?" he asked, throwing the shirt on the dirty floor.

Yugi sighed. "Yeah. I know him better than anyone and I know that he's thinking that I won't expect him tonight."

"Hm." Tristan said, not knowing what else to say. "We on sentry duty tonight, then?"

"Yes, and where's Téa?" Yugi asked as he pulled off his pants, throwing it to the floor with his shirt.

"Still at the gathering. She won't be back for maybe another three days." Tristan answered, handing Yugi a pair of black jeans, a red shirt and a pair of black boots. "Why do you ask?"

Yugi sighed again. "She apparently attacked one of Yami's friends."

Tristan raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure it was her? She might be impulsive but she knows better than that."

Yugi shrugged, pulling on the clothes Tristan had given him. "It's Yami's word against hers when she gets back because I'm not sure."

"Well, let's figure that out when she does come back, right now let's just deal with Yami." Tristan said, throwing Yugi's ruined clothes into a trash can.

Yugi nodded and glanced at a small, black ball. It was sitting on a pedestal, radiating a faint, violet light. Shadow Sphere's were one of the very few weapons that could kill many vampires at once, and Yugi had no intention of letting Yami have it. And besides being able to kill a large number of his kind at once, it could also turn many humans into vampires. That was why it was dangerous, both humans and vampires could lose their lives if they were anywhere near one when it went off. There were also rumors circulating around the vampire community about hidden powers, but Yugi would believe those if there were any proof.

When Yugi finally tore his gaze away from it, he noticed shadows slipping under the door. Tristan walked forward, snatching the note that they held, muttering about how obvious their messenger was being.

"Well, look's like you're right about Yami. The Boy Scout says that he's planning on tonight and some thief called Bakura is gonna be the one to actually take it." Tristan said, scanning the note. "It also says that there's gonna be six people helping, Boy Scout included."

"Well, they're all humans, we'll take care of them easily enough." Yugi said, flopping down onto a mattress in the darkest corner of the room.

"He says he needs to talk about something urgent, but he can't write it in case the message is intercepted." Tristan said, crumpling the note and pulling out a lighter, setting fire to the small piece of paper.

"Whatever it is can wait until after we take care of Yami and the humans." Yugi said tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

"We gonna hide it?" Tristan asked, glancing at the Shadow Sphere.

"No," Yugi said, his mouth curling into a mischievous smile, "I have a better plan, one that'll teach Yami a lesson in trying to steal from me."

* * *

Joey took in a big gulp of air, leaning against the blue wall for support. He panted then fell onto the navy colored carpet, still breathing heavily. Ryou watched him with amusement dancing in his eyes. 

"Why does he have to have so many damn steps?" Joey growled, glaring at Kaiba, who was leading them to his office.

"There's really not that many." Marik said, stopping next to them and peering at Joey over the top of his sunglasses. "You're either just getting lazy or old."

"Shaddup." Joey said, getting up and pushing away from the wall and following the others again.

"It's the only explanation." Marik insisted. "You've been tired and irritable recently, and every time we put on some music you scream and cover your ears and you say things smell when there's no scent to it."

"It's not because I'm lazy or old," Joey snapped, "it's because I got sick."

"Will you guys hurry up?" Bakura shouted from down the hall, his arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently. "We have to get this over with as fast as possible so we have more time to actually take the damn thing."

"Yami and Kaiba probably already came up with a plan." Joey mumbled, but hurried anyway.

Sure enough, when they were all in the room, Kaiba and Yami already had a plan.

"We're going to go in groups of two and search the outside warehouses first." Yami said, pointing to group of building on the map. "We'll work our way to the middle and meet up in the that one." He finished, pointing to building directly in the middle of the map.

The others nodded, studying it carefully.

"Who's with who?" Marik asked, "and where do we go in?"

"We've decided that it would be best if you and Joey went together, me and Bakura and Ryou with Kaiba." Yami answered, "We'll be going in from different directions."

"Wait, are you sure you and Bakura can work together? All you ever do is fight." Ryou pointed out.

"Yeah." Joey agreed. "It would be better if you two weren't paired." He paused. "And we can't put you with Kaiba, either. You'll end up arguing about which warehouse looks the oldest."

"Alright then, it'll be Kaiba and Marik, me and Ryou and Bakura with you." Yami said simply.

Joey glanced at Bakura and nodded slowly. They got along little better than Yami and Kaiba did, but they both knew the importance of staying quiet when trying to take something.

"That'll work!" Marik said happily, turning around and bounding out of the room. "Come on! We have to get there before the sun sets!"

Yami was about to follow but froze at Marik's words. "Why do we have to be there before sunset?" he asked curiously.

"Because then we'll have light to search by and more time! By the way, are we bringing flashlights?" he answered, spinning around again and finding himself nose-to-nose with Kaiba.

Kaiba stepped back quickly. "No, we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Flashlights would only increase our chance of getting caught by the guards Yami was talking about."

Marik shrugged and continued to lead to the way. "Oh well, I see well at night anyway."

Ryou watched his friends disappear out the door, their voices flowing back into the room. He looked at the map again and traced the middle building with his finger. With a half-hearted sigh, he slid off the seat he was sitting at and followed the others.For some reason, he felt that the night wasn't going to end well.

* * *

Know what? I'm going to start updating once a week. And if I don't, you can all poke me with a spork. –hands out sporks- 


	4. A Broken Step

"Uh…Where am I supposed to go again?" Tristan asked, staring out over the docks at the ocean and scratching the back of his head.

Yugi sighed and shook his head. "Just stay there and watch the south and east. I'm going to the other end to watch the north and west."

"Great," Tristan mumbled, "I get to watch the ocean and the department stores. How fun."

Yugi couldn't help but smile at Tristan's sarcasm. It never failed to remind Yugi of their _much _younger days.

Seeing Yugi's smile, Tristan raised an eyebrow at his partner. "Smiling? Yugi, I think Yami made you go soft."

Yugi just rolled his eyes and continued smiling. He was about to retort when a sharp pain went through his stomach and he doubled over, coughing. He gasped for air and when his lungs were sufficiently filled he spit something out onto his hand. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was blood.

"You need to feed and soon." Tristan said, watching Yugi worriedly.

"I'll be fine." Yugi said, wiping the blood onto his shirt. "Let's just take care of Yami first. Then I'll go feed."

Without waiting for a reply he jumped off of the roof they were standing on and onto the roof of the building next to it. He did that until he was satisfied with the view he had over the north and west. Glancing out over the streets and buildings, he settled down to watch and wait.

* * *

"I don't think this is a good idea." Ryou whispered as they walked to the docks, trying to keep to the shadows. 

Only Bakura and Marik seemed to have no problems with doing that. Ryou, Kaiba, Joey, and Yami kept forgetting and always walked into the moonlight, one of the others having to drag them back to the alleyways they were using. The night was silent with the occasional car driving by and it was eerie how the shadows seemed to transform themselves into monsters that were waiting to devour them. Ryou, who had always taken midnight walks and never had a problem with his imagination, took it as a bad omen.

"You don't think anything we do is a good idea." Marik pointed out, glancing back at him, having taken off his sunglasses when the sun had set.

"I know, but this is a _really_ bad idea. What if those guards catch us? Or the police? Or-"

"Quiet!" Yami hissed. "We're there."

Ryou immediately closed his mouth and looked at the warehouses towering over them with unease. He thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye but when he looked there was nothing there.

"Let's split up now." Kaiba said quietly, going to stand next to Marik. They immediately disappeared into the labyrinth of warehouses.

Joey, not able to tell the difference between Bakura and Ryou with only the moonlight, went in with Ryou. Yami, also having gotten confused, went in behind Bakura. It wasn't until a few minutes later that they realized the mix-up.

"Joey! You're supposed to be with Bakura!" Ryou exclaimed as quietly as he could.

"I thought you _were_ Bakura!" Joey said, glancing back the way they had come nervously. "It's too late to go back and switch partners. I just hope they don't end up killing each other."

"You idiot! You were supposed to be Ryou's partner!" Bakura growled quietly when he realized it was Yami following him and not Joey.

"I thought you were Ryou! There's not much of a difference between the two of you when you're quiet and it's dark!" Yami growled back.

"Never mind it, then. It's too late to go and find them. They could be anywhere." Bakura said, turning around and staying in the lead.

After an hour of silence and searching, Ryou and Joey were the first to reach the middle warehouse. Their nerves were tingling as Joey opened the window as silently as he could, gesturing for Ryou to go first. With some hesitation, Ryou climbed on top of a crate and went in, dropping onto the floor.

The room was darker than outside and he allowed his eyes a moment to adjust. There were crates everywhere, like in all the other warehouses and there was a bit of moonlight streaming in through a hole in the roof. Ryou jumped when Joey landed next to him, his nerves on edge.

"There's a door over there." Joey whispered, pointing to their left. Ryou looked and saw it, not having noticed it before.

He followed Joey to it, skirting around the crates and trying not to trip on anything. His heart was pounding as he walked, his palms sweaty as he wiped them on his pants. When they finally reached the door, Joey tried the handle and found that it wasn't locked. He gestured at the door, a silent question for Ryou to go first and Ryou nodded.

His heart now pounding more fiercely in his chest, Ryou tried his best to be as silent as humanly possible. As he looked in the room he noticed that it was a basement. There was a strange violet glow coming from somewhere down there and he gathered his courage, taking a tentative step. He made his way downward silently and winced whenever a step creaked and he heard every sound they made as Joey followed.

Without warning, one of the steps broke as Ryou put his weight on it. He yelped as pain shot up his left leg.

"Ryou!" Joey shouted, forgetting about their vow of silence as he rushed down to where Ryou was. "Are you alright?"

"I think so." He gasped, clutching his leg and shutting his eyes tightly. "It hurts, but I don't think it's broken or anything."

"I'll help you up." Joey said, wrapping his arm around Ryou's waist. Ryou wrapped his own arm around Joey's shoulder and pushed up with his right leg. It took a minute before his leg was out of the hole.

"I think we should go back." Ryou said, glancing down the rest of the potentially weak stairs. They only had halfway to go but Joey nodded anyway, not wanting to risk it.

"I think what Yami's looking for is in there, but we'll wait until they get here." Joey replied, turning around. He suddenly yelped and jumped back, running into Ryou.

"Joey wha-" he managed to get out before he heard an unfamiliar voice speak.

"I think you're right. It would be best if you went back, but letting people go, especially thieves, is not the way I work."

Ryou heard Joey's yell of pain and knew that he had to get out of there, but he couldn't go anywhere besides down. Deciding to risk getting stuck again, he turned around and only got a couple of steps away before someone popped up in front of him. He could only register a pair of bright, amethyst eyes before he fell into a world of black.


	5. Caught

Originally Updated :**12/12/06**

Edited: **11/28/08**

Caught

* * *

"What was that?" Bakura asked, turning around and frowning. Yami's eyes narrowed and he too turned around.

"It sounded like Ryou and Joey." he answered, looking in the general direction from where the noise had come from.

Bakura's eyes flashed and he headed back down the way they had come, determination hiding his unease. Yami merely followed, knowing that they probably wouldn't like what they would find.

oOo

"Did you have to hit them so hard? They're probably bruised." Tristan said as he examined the younger looking of the two teens, who were both tied to a beam that helped keep the ceiling up.

"I forgot they were human for a second." Yugi protested, wincing as he smelled the blood that was coming from a wound on the blond one. "I didn't mean to."

Tristan just snorted and stood, shaking his head and sighing. "You drew blood, Yami's gonna be pissed when he finds them."

"I just gave them minor cuts." Yugi said, annoyed as he crossed his arms. "I didn't _drink_ from them."

"Yet." Tristan pointed out, noting Yugi's dilated eyes and heavy breathing. "You're thirst is gonna be hard to control in an hour or so."

"They'll be gone by then." Yugi said passively.

"I hope so."

oOo

Yami climbed through the window, wincing as a broken piece of glass slashed his forearm. Bakura, getting impatient, reached up and shoved him to the other side, quickly climbing in after. Yami fell to the floor, practice keeping him from yelling out. He glared at his temporary partner, the other having pushed him onto more broken glass.

"Hurry up." Bakura said, ignoring that little fact.

Yami growled and got up, brushing the shards away. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes."

"Somehow, I knew you'd say that."

Bakura just rolled his eyes and began to search the warehouse, wondering if he'd just imagined the shouts he'd heard. But, then again, Yami had said he'd heard something as well, so it was safe to say that something had happened to Ryou and Joey. He hoped that whatever it was, it wasn't serious.

"Bakura, a stairway." Yami said from somewhere to his left.

Bakura abandoned his search and went to where the other was standing, staring down the stairs with remorse.

"One of the steps is broken." He said, gesturing downward. "They probably fell down there somewhere."

Bakura frowned and bent to pick up an object, twisting it around in his hands. It was Ryou's tear-shaped emerald, surrounded by tiny studs of turquoise that some man had giving him on their trip to the states a while back, which he kept on a chain around his neck at all times. It was supposed to keep evil away or some other nonsense.

"Let's go check." he murmured, putting the drop in his pocket.

oOo

Tristan yawned as Yugi meditated. He'd always found the practice a bit boring and had never indulged in it. How Yugi could stand to just sit for hours on end and clear his mind, Tristan didn't know, but he did know that it helped with _something_.

A creak sounded on the stairs and Tristan checked his watch. They'd found the stairs faster than their two friends, but they were still being rather slow about getting down them.

"Yugi." he whispered, knowing that it was enough to snap his friend out of his trance.

Yugi's eyes snapped open and Tristan noticed that his eyes weren't as dilated as they had been before.

"You've got to teach me patience," he said, wondering how thirst could be suppressed by just sitting there doing nothing.

"In time." Yugi said, grinning.

Before Tristan could respond to the statement, the two on the stairs finally reached the bottom and now stood looking at them with a mixture of surprise and anger.

"Yugi! What have you done to them?" Yami asked as he looked at his two friends tied to the post in horror.

"Knocked them out." Yugi replied simply, getting to his feet, "They're not hurt too badly."

"Joey's bleeding." Yami murmured, narrowing his gaze at the vampire.

"He shouldn't have been where he doesn't belong. But don't worry, we didn't even take a sip of him." Tristan said, kneeling next to the blonde and peering at him closely. "I don't think he'd taste very good anyway, too many twisting emotions."

"Back away from him!" Yami shouted angrily.

Tristan held up his hands in mock defense and slowly took a couple of steps away from the two captives. "Didn't mean any harm."

"Who are you, anyway?" Yami asked, realizing that he'd never seen the tall boy before.

"Tristan Taylor." Tristan answered promptly. "Two- hundred fifty-three years, Class three."

"What the hell does that mean?" Bakura asked, frowning.

"It means that he's been alive for two hundred fifty three years and that he's a Class three vampire." Yami answered. "It's how they introduce themselves."

"Vampire?" Bakura asked skeptically.

"Hard to believe, but go with it, will you?" Tristan said, smirking at the obvious human reaction.

"Why haven't we been informed of his existence?" Yami asked, looking accusingly at Yugi. "Especially after two - hundred thirty something years."

"Two - hundred thirty seven." Tristan put in offhandedly.

"You never asked." Yugi said, ignoring Tristan to answer Yami's question.

"I didn't tink I'd have to ask my own ancestor for informa-"

"_Nobody move_!"

Bakura spun around and looked at the barrage of police that had suddenly appeared on the stairs. "Where the hell did they come from?"

"Keep your hands where I can see them."

"Why didn't you hear them coming?" Yami growled at the two vampires, who looked unfazed.

"Wasn't paying attention." Tristan said, leaning against a pillar. "Sorry, Yam's, but police aren't really my taste." With that said, he ran out of the warehouse quickly, almost disappearing, unseen by the police who were still coming down the stairs.

Yugi turned and looked at Yami apologetically. "I'm sorry Yami, but Tristan's right. I really don't need a rap sheet." Then he, too, disappeared, leaving Yami and Bakura alone to deal with the new predicament.

"Some family member he is." Bakura muttered a few moments later, glaring at the ceiling as he was handcuffed while the police read his rights.

"He's only trying to protect his identity." Yami replied in defense of Yugi, even though he, too, was annoyed at the ancient vampire. He turned his head slightly and watched as the police cut Ryou and Joey loose. _At least they're okay_, he thought.

"Kidnaping people, huh? You boys just might be put away for some time." a man sneered. "We've got your lookouts in the car already, so there's no chance of help coming to you."

"Lookouts?" Yami and Bakura both asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb with us, boys."

"Oh, Kaiba and Marik." Yami said, remembering that the other two had gone to search a different part of the dock. _Why would he think they were lookouts? They shouldn't have been anywhere near here._

"Well, let's do a sweep and make sure the place is secure," a man barked at the others, who immediately sprang into action.

"You two are coming down to the station to answer some questions." the officer who had handcuffed Yami said.

Bakura threw him an annoyed glare and asked sarcastically as they were led out of the warehouse, "Well, wasn't this just a _wonderful_ day?"

"I've had better." Yami replied simply.

* * *

_This chapter has been bothering since I wrote it. But now I fixed what I needed to, though the grammar still sucks. That will one day be fixed, too._

- Slaughter


	6. Unfair

**

* * *

**

12/7/08

Unfair

* * *

A phone rang in a darkened room. A man sitting behind a desk glanced at the caller ID and promptly answered it.

"Problem resolved yet?" he asked.

"No," the nasal voice responded irritably, "the Kaiba's have too many resources. None of them were even in a holding cell. There was no time to eliminate the leech or take care of the victims."

The man frowned. "That's extremely unfortunate for everyone. It's either next time or not at all. Understand?"

The person on the other end swallowed audibly. "Yes, sir."

* * *

They'd been sitting in the police station for an hour before they were released, with the police apologizing gruffly and telling them to get home.

Yami rolled his eyes when they were outside. Kaiba had used his one phone call on Mokuba, his younger brother, telling him what had happened. Mokuba had made a few phone calls, straightened everything out, and now they were waiting for rides home.

"That was a waste of time," Bakura said suddenly, breaking the silence. The others glanced at him. "Joey and Ryou got hurt, we got arrested, and we didn't even get what we were there for." He glared at Yami. "Who were those two who got away?"

Yami sighed wearily, relieved when his grandfather pulled up. "I'll explain tomorrow."

"No, you'll explain right now," Bakura growled, shutting the door after Yami had pulled it open.

"Bakura," Ryou said wearily. "Drop it."

With one last heated glare, Bakura stepped back. Yami gave Ryou a grateful look and slid into the car, wanting nothing more than to get home and sleep.

Grandpa glanced at him, his hands tensing on the wheel, before he spoke.

"Yugi causing problems?" he asked nonchalantly. Yami groaned.

"Yugi promised me a Shadow Sphere. He didn't come through, so I tried to steal it," Yami sighed, "he must've known we were coming because he would've killed Joey and Ryou if he didn't."

His grandpa blinked. "A Shadow Sphere? Yami, you know better than to mess with one of those."

"But the vampire problem is growing!" Yami protested. "There's at least four in Domino now. We have to get rid of them before their population grows."

"Do you look forward to killing Yugi?" his grandfather demanded, "Because that's what this fight is going to lead to. _His death_, Yami. He's the only vampire who's true to his word. He's the reason our bloodline has survived this long. Yugi is our friend and in the end, we will have to kill him. But there is no reason to rush it when their numbers are low."

Yami sank into his seat, defeated. Because his grandfather was right. Overall, the vampire population was at it's lowest since biblical times. Besides that, in the end, whether it be him or one of his descendants who did the deed, Yugi would have to die by their hands.

It was a crap situation, everyone involved knew that. Yami didn't want to have to be the one to take out his friend, but with his relatives quickly wiping out vampires around the world, it looked like that was what was going to happen. Yami even suspected Yugi knew that and had accepted it a long time ago.

"It's not fair," he said quietly, "Why does it have to be _us_?"

"_Only one who understands the situation, who's heart is filled with love for the first and last vampire may slay him so that they will not walk again_," his grandfather said heavily. "You grew up hearing that, Yami. Only our line knows about their existence, only we love Yugi with all of our hearts. We have to destroy him before he destroys us."

"I've always hated that prophecy," Yami said idly, unbuckling his seatbelt as they pulled into the driveway of the game shop. "It's too long and wordy."

Grandpa Mouto chuckled. "You and the some thousands generations before us."

* * *

_Vampires walk the Earth. Their numbers will grow and they will thrive on the blood of humans, ending our race one day. This cannot be prevented unless the first vampire is slayed last. But there is a certain way to rid the world of them. Only one who understands the situation, who's heart is filled with love for the first and last vampire may slay him so that they will not walk again. Anyone else, and the human race will fall_.

Yami sighed, frowning at the piece of paper in front of him. Everyone with more than a drop of Yugi's blood in their veins had a copy. The original was kept with some clan in Egypt, hieroglyphs on a wall. It was translated every twenty years, so that new generations could understand it when they were initiated. Yami had known his calling since birth, so he'd been given his copy when he'd turned thirteen by Yugi, whom he'd known all his life.

It was a complicated situation. Yugi would defend his vampire friends with his life, even against Yami. He knew what had to happen eventually, but that didn't stop him from delaying it.

It also didn't help that their copies of the prophecy were only parts put together to get the general idea. Grandpa Motou had gone to Egypt once when he was a little older than Yami's age to see the real prophecy. He'd said that it was long and had all kinds of other things in it that didn't relate to them. He always told Yami to be grateful to have a shortened, easy version to look at.

"You're looking down."

Yami wasn't surprised to see Yugi sitting upside-down in his open window frame, his large eyes blinking curiously. That was something that always put Yami off, despite his personality and bloodlust, Yugi looked like an innocent teen who hadn't even heard of sex yet.

"I was arrested earlier," Yami said with a scowl, turning in his chair to face Yugi, "I have every right to be upset."

Yugi just smiled widely. "Think of it as a learning experience."

Yami frowned, noticing Yugi's somewhat glazed expression. "Did you eat before coming here?"

"Yeah. Some kid with green hair. His blood tasted a little bitter, but it was like drinking whiskey," Yugi said with a blissful smile. He swayed a little, blinking again. "I think I might've had too much, I feel funny."

Yami stood from his seat, worry starting to make it's way into his mind. His brows furrowed as he slowly walked towards Yugi. "Are you sure nothing was wrong with him? You look... off."

Yugi nodded once and nearly fell out the window. He gripped harder, looking a little panicked, but then he let go and clumsily threw himself into Yami's bedroom, his expression dazed. He landed in an awkward heap, unable to focus.

"He smelled good," he said, his voice oddly happy. Yami knelt next to him as his eyes slid closed, his breathing stopping slowly. That didn't worry him, Yugi could for days without taking a breath. What worried Yami was that Yugi was passing out when it wouldn't be light for another two hours.

Slightly afraid of what was going on, Yami straightened Yugi so that he wasn't uncomfortable, then got up to get his grandfather.

* * *

_Holy fuck, how long has it been?_

-Slaughter


End file.
